Yarobic Pyrotechnic Corporation
The Yarobic Pyrotechnic Corporation (YPK) is a company based in North Yaroben supplies the military and Yarobic hobbyists with explosives, rockets, fireworks and chemicals. The logo depicts a rocket with the fuse ignited, the body displaying the initials of the company. History The YPK started as a home business run by Goniil Weggar and his son Grubarr supplying medical chemicals and remedies such as penicillin to the Yarobes of Vraybarakar, a small suburb in North Yaroben in the mid-17th Age. Apart from medicines, they also produced and exported explosives to Doggär-Slug, and hobbyists inside Yarobia. Today, the YPK employs more than 1500 young Yarobes (most of them are Bunniis because of the high-risk working environment). The YPK headquarters once sustained major damage due to an explosion, probably caused by flint knocking against a coarse Yarobium plate. Experts say that the accident was “caused by the workers not being careful enough”, yet Grubarr denies that his workers are careless. The Weggar family mill has the record of having the oldest water mill in Yarobia. The YPK headquarters were built around the family home and mill in the early 16th age, and continue on creating products today. The home was originally on farming ground, but because of the infertile sandy soil around the coast, the crops were mulched and burned. Technology The residents of Vraybarakar learned most of their explosive techniques from the Oinkers, who invented and used Black Powder well before Yarobes even knew it existed. The Oinkers were famous for their intellectual ability and their scientific and alchemical discoveries. Products The YPK began, as of the change of government at the end of the 18th Age, to stop selling medicinal products and focused mainly on rockets and explosives for recreation, mining and exploration needs during the Yarobium rush in the mid-19th age. They deploy several sizes of rockets, each having varied uses. Rockets The SRM-72 is a reasonable 125g Sugar rocket (Made from Potassium Nitrate, Sugar and the Wessi Honey of a Blackbee) with 10g of Al + S + KNO3 flash powder mix. All SRM classes are nicknamed “LE PÉTARD” – From French, ‘The firecracker’, although not all rockets contain flash powder as SRM-72 does. The SRM-72 is used almost entirely for recreational purposes, and used in bulk for national celebrations. The SRM-73 is an All-fuel rocket (no explosives inside) used for exploring in harsh conditions, for example inside volcanoes and high in Narobed’s atmosphere. The SRM-73 is a very large rocket, and can hold up to 500kg of fuel, usually Absolut Ethanol from Natural Oinkish sugar cane, and pure Hydrogen Peroxide as the oxidiser. The SRM-74 and SRM-75 are very small rockets, only about 10cm and 15cm tall respectively. These are used by the military as “stunners” to control the Dwarven prisoners in Detention Correction Facility of Mt. Dwarfzgedbanishedinn. These contain small amounts of Potassium Perchlorate based flash powder, which can temporarily deafen or dazzle a Dwarf. They have a burn time of only approximately 4 seconds, as the fuel is stimulated with a high Nitrous Oxide atmosphere and small amounts of Black powder mixed into the solid fuel. Customised size rockets can be bought on order. Explosives Flash powder “Mass Termite” (commercial) ''' The commercial flash powder is made of a mixture of KNO3, Al and S in ratios 5:3:2 respectively. Sometimes trace amounts of Iron Oxide are mixed in to increase the burn rate. '''Flash powder (Industrial) The “Industrial” flash powder is used by the Military in the SRM-74 and 75 rockets. The ingredients to the powder, Potassium Perchlorate and Aluminium powder are mixed in the ratios 3:8, as shown by the chemical formula discovered by famous Oinkish professor Prof. Yumi Arzaar: 3 KClO4 + 8 Al → 4 Al2O3 + 3 KCl This method was a much faster burning F-powder than the commercial version, and creates a report up to 150dB at 1 metre. “Super” Flash Powder What the YPK calls “super flash powder” is actually a mixture of KMnO4, Al and S in ratios 10:4:1. This creates an extremely bright flash and a loud report when comfined, hence the name. However, "Super" Flash powder is relatively unstable and is made less than a day before use. The risk of a premature explosion is low. R-candy The rocket fuel that the YPK exports is the simple Sugar, Wessi Honey and Nitrate fuel. The reason why they do not export the more volatile fuel found in the SR-73s is because the YPK have often had the problem of the Bunniis eating the fuel, and the executives did not want to risk letting the Bunniis obtaining any H2O2 + C2H6O fuel. “The consequences could be disastrous,” one executive explains. Black powder The Black powder that the YPK produces is the volatile 75% KNO3, 15% Wessi softwood charcoal and 10% Sulfur powder usually obtained from volcanic cliffs in the Oink Mountain Range. This is a very good mixture of Black powder (in the sense of burning quickly and producing a loud report), and to prevent the consumption by Bunniis, the manufacturers add in an unappealing fragrance (although this is an optional extra). Nitrocellulose (Gun cotton) Unlike most Nitrocellulose, the YPK sells this explosive in powder form. First, the high-quality pure cotton wool is shipped over from Old Toga’s farm in the north-west of the country (across the Gulf of Yarobia), then cooled to make it more brittle, milled into a fine powder (using the Weggar family mill, powered by a small outlet stream flowing into the ocean). The cellulose powder is then treated with a mixture of Sulfuric Acid and Nitric Acid to form Nitrocellulose. NOTE: Because of the dangerous conditions in the YPK factory, the YPK does not export or sell Glycerol Nitrate (1,2,3-trinitroxypropane) because it is too volatile. Thermite (Not to be confused with Termite) The YPK sells Thermite, a mixture of Aluminium powder and Iron(III) Oxide in the ratios 3:8. This gives a powerful burn with temperatures up to 3,200˚C, enough to melt Yarobium. ANFO, AMMONAL, ANNMAL and other Ammonium nitrate mixtures Chemicals Pure milled Sulfur powder Imported direct from the volcanic cliffs of the Oink Mountain range near Jubie Castle, the Sulfur rocks are powdered using the Weggar family mill, and sold in 1kg bags. Pure milled Potassium Nitrate powder Using natural ingredients such as Potassium carbonate from the leftover potash in the incinerator out the back of the factory (near the wharf) and Hydrochloric Acid to form Potassium Chloride, the YPK reacts these products using other nitrate salts (Such as Sodium & Ammonium Nitrate) to form Potassium Nitrate. The crystals are then milled and sold in 1kg bags. Potassium Perchlorate Sodium Hypochlorite is decomposed to Sodium Chloride and Sodium Chlorate. This Sodium Chlorate is then electrolysed using the turbine in the mill to form Sodium Perchlorate and Hydrogen: ClO3− + H2O → ClO4− + H2 The Sodium Perchlorate is then treated with Potassium Chloride (through exchanging ions) to form Potassium Perchlorate and Sodium Chloride. The excess Sodium Chloride is then dumped into the ocean. The turbine in the mill can produce as much as 100 volts at a time after rain, which is perfect for electrolysis. Pure milled Wessi Charcoal Wessi wood (from the plantations near Botanical Gardens in Oinkland) is incinerated and the charcoals are collected and milled. This fine charcoal is very pure; about 90% organic carbon is measured. This is extremely good for making Black powder. Aluminium powder Native Aluminium nuggets are beaten down to a very fine foil, cooled and milled into powder. The powder is ‘perfect for making flash powder’, as YPK employees claim. Copper powder The YPK sell powdered Copper metal by reation of Copper(II) chloride with aluminium powder. Assorted Acids, Bases and Spill cleaning Acids produced by the YPK include Sulfuric acid, Nitric acid and Hydrochloric acid, Sodium Bicarbonate or Calcium hydroxide (for neutralising acids and putting out chemical fires and rogue rockets), Citric acid from the Wegg, Tartaric acid from Oinkish grapes, Phosphoric acid, Oxalic acid and Acetic acid from distilled Doggär Slug vinegar. All of these acids are concentrated but not fuming, for safety reasons. FUN, MISC and Other chemicals The YPK, just for fun chemical reactions, sells chemicals such as Sodium Acetate, Potassium Iodide solution, Hydrogen Peroxide, pure Isopropyl rubbing Alcohol, Gas canisters (Butane, Methane, Propane and Ethane), White phosphorus, conc. Ammonia, Small amounts of metallic Sodium, Potassium and Rubidium, Potassium Permanganate, Iron(III) Oxide, Iodine crystals, Sodium Hydroxide, Termit powder, dilute ammonia solution, and Ammonium dichromate. The YPK also sells Lab supplies and Glassware; yet do not make them at the factory. See Also Alternate Yarobic element names Yaroben Mining in Yarobia